The concerns were highlighted at Holyrood’s Social Security Committee last week by Alison Johnstone, social security spokeswoman for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian region. She said problems included delays, errors and missing documentation. Johnstone has raised what she called “very serious concerns” with Neil Couling, Universal Credit director general at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who admitted there had been problems and spoke of deploying extra staff to “fight our way out of a vicious circle”.
Johnstone said: “The DWP roll out of Universal Credit in East Lothian is clearly causing serious problems. The DWP might call it a test and learn environment but this is affecting vulnerable people and putting a huge strain on council staff. We need to see some compassion from the UK government who are driving these ill-considered changes. The DWP say they are listening to East Lothian Council, where staff are clearly stretched. The DWP must improve their systems as there is very little confidence left in Universal Credit.”
A DWP spokeswoman said: “The reasons for rent arrears are complex and to link it to welfare reform is misleading. Universal Credit is transforming lives, with people moving into work faster and staying in work longer than under the previous system.”
